A former correctional officer charged last year with sexually abusing a female inmate at the Federal Correctional Institute Dublin (FCI Dublin) faces new allegations in connection with two other prisoners.
John Russell Bellhouse, 39, of Pleasanton, originally accused in December, now faces a six-count Grand Jury indictment that could send him to prison for 38 years, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.
“The additional charges unsealed (Friday) demonstrate the priority the Department of Justice has placed on prosecuting cases of sexual misconduct by Bureau of Prison employees,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement. “We have no tolerance for correction officers who betray the trust placed in them to safely and humanely care for those in their custody.”
Bellhouse, who worked as the prison’s safety administrator until he was placed on leave in March 2021 amidduring an investigation, allegedly expressed interest in an inmate in 2020, calling her “girlfriend,” giving her earrings and allowing her to use an office phone in violation of prison rules.
Prosecutors allege Bellhouse touched the inmate sexually and twice engaged in oral sex with her in his office. Sexual relationships between inmates and correctional officers are illegal.
A federal grand jury handed down an indictment in the case in February, but added additional charges last week. The superseding indictment expanded the charges against Bellhouse to three sexual assault counts involving the inmate identified as “victim 1.” Two counts allege Bellhouse sexually abused her and a third accuses him of engaging in abusive sexual contact with her.
The updated indictment added more counts that accuse Bellhouse of sexually abusing two other female inmates under Bellhouse’s supervision. The alleged crimes occurred between May and December 2020 in the FCI Dublin Camp Safety Office.
“(Bellhouse) had a fundamental responsibility to care for the welfare of inmates in his custody and maintain the good order of FCI Dublin,” FBI San Francisco Special Agent in Charge Robert Tripp said in a statement. “The additional charges allege the defendant did neither, but instead abused his powers and took advantage of the women for whose care he was responsible.”
The new indictment alleges two counts of sexual abuse of a ward, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Bellhouse also is charged with four counts of sexually abusive contact. Each of those has a maximum sentence of two years.
Bellhouse is scheduled for a court appearance in U.S. District Court in Oakland on Oct. 13. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers scheduled Bellhouse’s trial for June 5.
The indictment continues a string of shocking accounts of how female inmates were sexually mistreated by FCI Dublin officials in the last few years. The stories drew the attention of Senate and House Judiciary Committee members, including U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Democrat who represents Livermore, Pleasanton and Dublin.
A low-security women’s institution with about 635 prisoners, FCI Dublin is part of the broader Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), which runs more than 130 institutions housing nearly 15,000 inmates nationwide.
In the last few years, a disturbing array of problems involving misconduct, contraband and escapes has plagued the federal prison system with FCI Dublin repeatedly making headlines. The problems resulted in demands for BOP Director Michael Carvajal to resign. In August, the new director, Collette Peters, vowed to work with Thahesha Jusino, a new warden at FCI Dublin, to change the toxic culture at the Dublin facility.
In August, federal prosecutors upgraded — for a third time — sexual abuse against FCI Dublin’s former warden, Ray J. Garcia, who is scheduled for trial in November in U.S. District Court in Oakland.
Garcia, 55, is charged with abusing three female prisoners while working as associate warden and, after his promotion to warden, from 2018 to 2021.
Besides Garcia, three other guards and a chaplain who worked at FCI Dublin were charged with sex offenses involving inmates in the last few years.
